Sitting With a Relaxed Mind, Like Coming to Rest

Sit with a relaxed, easy mind, as if we've simply come to rest — let the body be comfortable, the mind be calm, sit playfully, and practice with an easy heart. Maintain awareness continuously, without lapsing — this is the single most important point. The goal of abiding with right mindfulness is to have a clear anchor for the mind: knowing exactly where we've placed it so that it can rest happily there. Body and mind are our resources, and we must care for them so they remain at ease.

Relaxing the Body, Part by Part

Let us settle attention from the crown of the head, the face, cheeks, shoulders, arms, torso, down to the feet, letting the mind relax comfortably at each point. Let every muscle relax and loosen; let the breath ease. Part by part, don't let any area remain tense or tight — adjust it to be relaxed and light. We want mindfulness to keep sensing this ease continuously, enjoying it however long it lasts. Don't take it too seriously, or it becomes tense and tiring — do it simply, the way even a child could, light and comfortable, open like a cool, clear mountain stream, spacious like a fresh morning sky.

A Light Touch at the Center of the Body

Once the body feels relaxed and comfortable, we gently bring the mind to rest at the center of the body. But if the center of the body feels heavy, don't force it — not yet. Keep the mind still, light, at ease, clear and cool, as if simply sitting for pleasure. Touch the center of the body only lightly — just enough to know it's there. If it feels heavy, let it go, and keep the mind relaxed, resting in a pleasant mood, recalling a clear, cool stream we like — seeing it brings ease.

Sammā-Arahaṃ Is a Name-Quality (Nāma-Sabhāva)

Sammā-Arahaṃ is a nāma-sabhāva — a name-quality. A name is what we call something according to its qualities; since a state of Dhamma can only be perceived by the mind, we designate its name according to that felt quality. Sammā-Arahaṃ is the name of the One who has practiced well, practiced rightly, in a way that leads far from defilement. As we speak his name, we come to perceive his qualities — the name-quality itself — and we grow familiar with that quality as it arises, something we can perceive only through the mind.

The Qualities Perceived Through the Name-Quality

He is filled with purity of virtue, concentration, wisdom, liberation, and the knowledge of liberation — complete in the virtue of supreme wisdom, supreme purity, and supreme compassion. His virtue is transcendent virtue; his concentration is transcendent mind; his wisdom is transcendent wisdom. As we repeat his name, we gradually absorb his goodness. To develop ourselves, we must rely on one who knows and has power; speaking his name is a way of borrowing his qualities, and he brings merit in to purify our stains, lifting our heart and mind higher and finer.

The Form-Quality (Rūpa-Sabhāva) Appears

As we repeat his name, he appears at the center of our mind. His rūpa-sabhāva is the crystal Dhammakāya image — clear, radiant, delicate, soft, and gentle. He is full of life, able to smile and converse with us; his body is seated on a plane of jhāna, a Dhamma-sphere filling his entire lap. Once he appears, he refines our elements of seeing, remembering, thinking, and knowing — earth, water, wind, fire, space, and consciousness — until they are clear and pure, clearing away every stain of defilement. The Buddha image arises from a small bright point at the center of our body, expanding and overlaying to become one with our human body, one image after another. If it isn't yet clear, that's fine — simply sense that Buddha image after Buddha image is arising within.

Compared to Kasiṇa Practice

This method of focusing on Sammā-Arahaṃ is like the practice of earth-, water-, wind-, or fire-kasiṇa: one first speaks the name of the kasiṇa, then tunes in to perceive the quality of that object — focusing on earth means perceiving the quality of earth. When we focus on the name-quality of the One who has practiced well and rightly, we perceive his qualities — filled with transcendent virtue, mind, and wisdom, complete with liberation and the knowledge of liberation — perceiving the taste of that name-quality. At the same time, the form-quality also appears.

Why Form and Name Seem to Appear Together

But if we're not yet familiar with this, having form and name appear together is difficult — so we focus on one at a time first. Once we're familiar, form and name can appear together. In truth, they cannot literally appear at the exact same moment — but because mindfulness has become so fast, it seems as if they arise together. As we speak his name, the form-quality follows right after — and this speed itself comes from mindfulness gaining quality. As we continue developing mindfulness and putting it to use, its quality improves; the merit flowing in sharpens mindfulness, clearing away the hindrances, making it more agile — and once agile enough, it can perceive both the form-quality and the name-quality as if simultaneous.

The Four-Step Technique

This practice has four steps. Step one: focus on the name-quality, "Sammā-Arahaṃ," until we reach its taste and perceive his qualities. Step two: focus on the form-quality as it appears. Step three: merge our body with his body into one — "I am the Buddha image, the Buddha image is me." Step four: merge our mind with his mind, gathering the mind to stop, gathering it to be still, at the center of the center — the center of the Buddha image arising image after image. Whatever he does, we do the same. As we repeat this, mindfulness gains quality, and whatever we determine, so it becomes.

Ease as the Measure That Stains Have Cleared

All progress comes from merit entering to clear away stains. Once stains have cleared, whatever we determine simply becomes so — it grows easy. This very ease is the indicator that stains have been purified. What we couldn't do at first, we later can — not because we've become skillful, but because the stains that obscured us have been cleared by the merit flowing in. But if we let stains back in through carelessness, it becomes difficult again, and we must clear them anew. None of this is our own cleverness — it is entirely a matter of clearing stains. Rely on diligence, work gradually, and give yourself time.

The Athlete and Musician Must Practice

We can see that the entire mechanism already exists — we simply need to use what is already there for real benefit. But to access this mechanism, we must train, just as every runner, athlete, and musician must train — training to merge ourselves with the instrument that will help us become one with it. Once merged with the one who has power, stains are cleared, and we're released from coarse dimensions into subtler ones, our efficiency and ability growing steadily. Before reaching the point where this moves automatically inward on its own, we must master these four steps.

Merging Body and Mind, Settling Still, Freed Dimension by Dimension

As we speak his name, the Buddha image continues arising at the center of our body and mind, one image after another, expanding and merging into one with us — our entire body becoming the crystal Dhammakāya, radiant, delicate, soft, and gentle. Once our body has merged with his into one unity, we merge our mind with his — gathering the mind to stop, gathering it to be still, at the center of the Buddha image, open, light, clear, cool, and pure. As we settle into stillness at the center of the center of the center, we are released — open and at ease. As we merge with him, he leads us out of coarse dimensions into subtler ones by settling us into stillness within, subtler and subtler still. Entering each subtler dimension, the mind opens, becomes light and at ease; every worry dissolves, every heaviness in the heart is released. Each dimension carries its own small residue of worry and heaviness, and as we're freed, that small residue disappears too.